Fans draped themselves in costumes and formed a line that ran out the door of the Scholastic Store and onto Broadway. Attire ranged from the traditional robes of a Hogwarts student to a Sirius Black costume with a “Wanted” poster and all.

Fans of all ages lined up early to get a sneak peak at the final cover by Kazu, including a trio dressed as Hermione Granger, Professor Sybill Trelawney, and a Gryffindor student.

While the three friends loved the classic covers, they’re also excited for Kazu’s final illustration. They believe since the books are so well known, the covers can delve deeper into the story of each book. As Jessica put it, who was dressed as Hermione, “It’s just a good excuse to get dressed up.”

Still, many new fans turned out to see the latest Harry Potter cover, including Cameron, a 7-year-old boy from New York. Cameron just finished reading The Sorcerer’s Stone this summer and came dressed as a Slytherin student with the hopes of seeing the latest book cover. His favorite character? Harry Potter, of course.

Before long, the crowd was allowed into the store and gathered around the spot where the book unveiling was to take place. However, those in attendance were greeted with several surprises, including Kazu Kibuishi himself!

Kibuishi spoke to his fans and shared his favorite memory about creating the Harry Potter covers.

“It was actually painting The Goblet of Fire. It was one of the hardest covers to paint actually. I was finishing it right around the time of the Academy Awards and everyone else was at home watching the awards show. I’ve never missed it once, you know, I’m just a film fan. And I was working that night on the cover, and it was a late night and I was on my own, and it was just me and Harry and the world. And it felt really special to be able to be there in that place when the rest of the world was somewhere so far away.”

And then came the big reveal! Here’s Kazu Kibuishi’s final book cover!

Then Kazu spoke about his inspiration for The Deathly Hallows book cover.

“I felt the final cover should be about the main, the core friends within the story and I sort of saw it as the last ride they would have. So I was looking for a moment where it felt kind of felt like that. So that is why I chose the scene that you can see here. And it’s also a tribute to the original cover. I actually wanted to maintain some of the same color palette, the color palette that Mary GrandPré had decided to use and so it was a tribute to her work as well as to the story itself.”

Kazu and the Harry Potter team had one last surprise about the spines of the new book covers. When all seven of the new books are placed side by side, the bindings will reveal the following image.

It’s Hogwarts, as painted by Kazu himself! Kazu then described his inspiration for this amazing painting.

“It’s meant to depict them actually going there for the first time. And I thought if you’re going to look at the books from the spine, then I want to replicate the feeling of being in the boat and journeying out into that world.”

After the unveiling, fans who stuck around could build wands . . .

. . . or spend time with some live magical creatures!

All in all, what a magical day and a beautiful cover for The Deathly Hallows. What do you think? Do you love the latest Harry Potter cover? Leave your thoughts in the Comments below!

I LOVE HARRY POTTER SO MUCH I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE IT !!!! I DIDN’T MAKE MY OWN WAND BUT BOUGHT ONE ON VACATION AT ORLANDO RESORTS I CAN’T WAIT FOR THEM TO EXPAN IT IT WILL BE GREAT! NEVER INSULT HARRY POTTER EVER IT RULES!!! I HAVE READ ALL THE BOOKS A MILLION TIMES AND WATCHED ALL THE MOVIES!!! GO POTTERHEADS!!! HP RULES!!! I WAS A WITCH FOR MY SECOND GRADE HALLOWEEN!! HAHA HALLOW- EEN? IF YOU READ THE LAST BOOK YOU SHOULD GET IT!! GO HP AND POTTERHEADS AND BOOKWORMS AND NERDS AND GEEKS!!! I AM ALL!!!!!! YAY HARRY POTTER AND THANK YOU J. K. ROWLING!!

Wow! I wish I had gone! I absolutely love Harry Potter and my favorite animals in the world are owls! I think the cover of The Deathly Hollow’s is very like the book and the movie itself. I myself have a copy of the The Deathly Hallows but I do wish I got this cover instead!

Anyone find it funny that they took a picture in front of the Hunger Games logo? i know i did! I can’t believe they got to make their own wands!!! I didn’t realize that was Hermione the looks different

That sounds so cool!!!!!!!!!!!!! I mean that was probabley like a Harry Potter fest. I totally wish that I could have been there. I don’t mean to be nerdy but I am really into Harry Potter stuff. Just to give an example for my birthday last year my dad gave me a horcrux and a griffandor ( sorry about the spelling) scarf as presents. I was totally excited that I did my happy dance twice. As for those covers, I guess that their sort of cool but for the Deathly Hollows book I think that they should have left the cover alone. It looks okay I guess but it almost looks exactly the same as the original cover for the first book with Fawkes the pheonix and Harry, Ron, and Hermione. And an air high five to catgymnastics173 and I probabley won’t get used to these new ones. Goodbye and lights out Alice.